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Chalet Edelweiss

Chalet Edelweiss is an improbably good, casual Swiss-inspired restaurant very close to LAX. It features a wood-fire oven with hand-made pizzas in addition to traditional Swiss-German and French dishes like raclette, fondue, weisswurst, gulasch and schnitzel. Starters include wurstsalat with cheese, bundner Teller (Swiss dried beef – a cousin of the Italian bresaola) and a beer-based soup. Accompanying the main courses are such Swiss staples as rosti potatoes, red cabbage and spaetzle. Desserts include home-made apple strudel.

The decor is very Swiss, including cow bells, milk cans, skis and rock climbing gear, hung up on the pine siding in a bright airy high-ceiling room with simple pine tables and chairs. The front, an enclosed patio with bistro tables and chairs, is more like a beer garden (with Erdinger, Bitburger and Kostritzer on tap), and kitschy touches like a counter around a tree trunk and papier-mâché Swiss Alp against the wall.

There's ample free parking behind the building. It attracts local Loyola Marymount students, the local Westchester crowd and foreign nationals looking for a European meal and an espresso to finish. Prices are moderate.